Compensation
by alliope
Summary: Crona might be comfortable calling a dungeon home, but Maka sure wasn't. Watching Crona descend down the cold, stony stairs every night, it bothered her. So she took the only reasonable option; she invited Crona to live with them. They agreed, on one condition: they would pay 50% of the rent.


Note: This was a request from tumblr that ended up long enough to post on it's own. It's been cross posted to Archive of Our Own as well under the same name.

* * *

Of all the battles waged between Maka Albarn and Crona Gorgon, the longest and most arduous by far was the fight to convince Crona to move in with them. For nearly a year after the defeat of the Kishin, Crona had spent their days living in the basement of Shibusen in the same jail cell they'd been thrown in when they first surrendered, like some sort of prisoner. They never complained about it, hell it was probably an improvement over whatever Medusa had been giving them. But it bothered Maka. It bothered her more than anything, seeing them slip away down the cold, stony stairs to that empty room to spend the night alone again. Crona was their friend, they'd proven time and time again that they'd sacrifice anything for the DWMA, sacrifice anything for her. They should be living like anyone else, in a house with more than one window and a bed that isn't a creaky piece of metal.

So she made the only reasonable choice and insisted Crona move in with her and Soul. That didn't go over well at all. Crona, desperate to avoid intruding or in anyway being a burden, refused to budge from their home 30 feet underground and Maka, insistent on helping her friend, refused to let the issue die. She was an unstoppable force of affection smashing head first into the immovable object that was Crona's self-sacrificing nature. It took three months before Crona relented. Over those months, their relationship had escalated beyond friendship in fumbling romance and Maka would be lying if she said she hadn't taken advantage of a moment spent tangled together on a couch to pose the question once more. Crona couldn't bring themself to deny her like that, so the agreement was made to give Crona the guest bedroom in her and Soul's apartment. On one condition. Crona wanted to pay 50% of the rent.

Crona insisted, felt it was the least they could do to repay their friends for offering them a place in their home. It was a ridiculous request. There were three others in the house, each with enough money coming in to pay more than their share of rent. Maka and Soul were both paid a wage for their work at the DWMA, plus Maka had money that her father insisted on continuing to send her, and Blair had both her pay from Chupa Cabra's and from "odd jobs." Crona on the other hand, had never worked a day in their life. Their agreement with the DWMA didn't include a wage like most students and Ragnarok made it near impossible for them to hold any sort of generic retail job most young adults would have. There was no way Crona would be able to pay that much, hell she wouldn't have asked them to pay anything if she had it her way. But Crona absolutely insisted and she knew if she wanted them to move in any time soon, she'd have to accept these conditions, at least temporarily.

Crona requested to stay in the dungeon until they knew they could find a job that would allow them to pay, but Maka managed to convince them to at least start moving their belongings into the room. Surprisingly, it didn't take long for Crona to find paid work. Being close with teachers had it's benefits and they'd managed to snag a job as a TA for both Stein and Marie. They'd been offered a fairly large salary for their work, 30 hours a week spend grading papers at $20 dollars an hour. That is, until they overheard Marie complain about her pay as a teacher and from then on refused to be paid a cent more than minimum wage. That wasn't enough to make half the rent anymore, so instead of renegotiating, they went back to job hunting.

Their second job was snagged at the DWMA library, using their wings and abnormal strength to organize and move books for another 30 hours a week at $15 an hour. Once again, they were paying 50%, but now they were home less and less.

Just like the dungeon, the whole situation bothered Maka. She had a right to be bothered! Her, Soul and Blair could pay plenty for themselves, Crona didn't need to take on all that work. Besides, they were barely home. Maybe Maka was being a bit selfish, but she wanted to spend more time with her datemate. They lived together now, was it to much to ask to have a little alone time?

She knew Crona would quit the jobs if she asked them directly, Crona would do practically anything if she asked, so long as they didn't think they were burdening anyone. But it felt dirty to do that to them. That was the one thing they'd asked for when they agreed to move in. So as much as it got under her skin, she'd left it alone.

Crona got off of work at Stein's at 7:00 PM. Each day Maka would meet them at the door and curl their fingers together for the walk home. Today was no different, even as the weather got colder and she had to pull on a scarf and jacket before leaving the house. At 7:00 on the dot, the door swings open to the back of Crona's head as they wave goodbye to Stein and Marie. They turn around with that tiny smile on their face that makes Maka's heart swell with affection and shyly clasp their fingers together with her's. Crona's hands were always cold, the metal running through their veins chilling and leaving their extremities as icy as the rest of the weather. It didn't bother her that much, the warm glow in her chest was more than worth some frigid fingers. Hand in hand they'd trail down the front steps and out the gate, slowly leaving behind the twisted trees and stitched metal that Stein and Marie seem to call home. The first few minutes were always quiet, Crona was drained after talking to people all day and Maka was settled to give them a few minutes of rest as their day came to a close. Their hands swung lazily between them and their shoulders brushed as they walk closer than is probably necessary. Maka dragged a thumb along Crona's knuckles, beginning to rub small circles on the back of their hand, leaving a trail of much needed heat.

Their walks usually contained at least one stop, whether it be a garden in town or a small shop. They stopped in the park today, at an old bench near the treeline of the woods. Crona sat against the end, leaning on the railing as Maka cured into their other side. She sighed and buried her head into their shoulder. They were both tired today and Maka missed this, the quiet time she could spend wrapped around Crona. She let her soul press at the skin of her cheek and seep through her pores in the shoulder she leaned on. It's tendrils spread deep into Crona's skin to grasp at the warmth resting in their chest. When she finally reaches the shaking mass, Maka let's their souls connect, feeling the warm rush of Crona's spirit flooding her veins. It still made her shudder, resonating like this and she felt Crona tense as well as her electric energy ran hot through their body. Her eyes drifted shut as the feeling began to fade into a gentle warmth. Breathily, she mumbled, "I missed you…"

Crona hummed, "…I missed you too.."

The fabric of their shirt was soft and Maka nuzzled into it,"I wish you could be home more."

Their resonance snapped suddenly, leaving Maka startled and cold without Crona's gentle energy. The arm underneath her jerked as it rose to clutch the other. Alarmed she pulled backwards to look at them. Their eyes were focused on the ground in front of them, eyebrows furrowed and back hunched. Their knuckles were white and wrapped tight around their forearm, like they used to do so long ago. She reached out a hand to rest it comfortingly on their shoulder, confusion and worry coursing through her. They took a few deep breaths, waiting a moment, before sighing.

"Please don't ask me to quit my jobs. Cause I'll do it, if you ask me to, but," They took a shuddering breath, "I don't know if I can pay my part of the rent without them. I'll talk to my bosses about changing my hours or getting a raise," They looked over at her, an earnest fear in their face "I know it's bothering you, but I can't pay you without them and I can't be a burden to all of you."

Maka frowned, the hand on their shoulder tightening "I wouldn't ask you something like that, I just miss having you around sometimes," She knocked her knuckles against their shoulders smiling gently. "I invited you to live with us cause I wanted to spend more time with you,"

Crona smiled back, but it came out more like a cringe, "I'll try to get more time, I promise,"

Maka's hand slid down and lay over Crona's "I wish you didn't do all this. Soul, Blair, and I have plenty for rent, you shouldn't have to pay half when there are three other people in this house," She picked up the hand "You're not inconveniencing anyone, you know."

They didn't respond, turning their gaze back to the ground. That was that, Crona didn't want to talk about it anymore and no matter how much the frustration burned in the back of Maka's mind, they were done thinking about it.

Maka sighed and pressed her face against Crona's chest, frowning at the heat radiating from their core, "How can your hands be so cold when your body's a furnace?"

Crona shrugged, curling their anomalously icy fingers through her hair, "'m not sure, maybe you could ask Ragnarok?"

Maka grimaced, "I'd rather not." She rubbed her hands together to try and restore the heat lost to the autumn air before getting a wicked idea. In one smooth motion, Maka slid her icy hands up under Crona's shirt and rested them against their searing skin. Crona jerked backwards.

"M-MAKA!" They yelped, grabbing her forearms where they peeked out from under the hem of their shirt. She ignored them, splaying her palms on their stomach and leaning her cheek on their arm.

"Hmm?"

"Y-your hands are cold!" They looked down at her helplessly.  
She tilted her head up to give them a cheeky grin. "Warm me up?"

Crona frowned, biting their lip before leaning down to give her a hesitant kiss. Maka pressed against their lips eagerly, sliding her hands around to Crona's back, still refusing to take her fingers away from the warmth under their T-shirt. She hummed, leaning into her partner, not noticing the icy digits brushing at the hem of her shirt. With a swiftness that could only belong to someone like the demon swordmeister, they shot their frigid hands up her back. She screeched, leaping backwards. Her grip instinctively tightened on Crona and with a gasp of surprise, she yanked both of them into the grass under the bench.

Maka landed on her back with a huff, while Crona, fortunately, managed to brace themself before crushing her. She groaned as she leaned forward, cracking her eyes open and smiling at the look of concern on Crona's face. Taking them by surprise, she heaved Crona over, flipping so that she hovered above them. Her smile had morphed into a smirk.

"Oh, so it's war you're looking for, huh?" Crona's face fell fearfully. Her hands returned to their sides and began to scratch at their stomach. They bit their lip and screwed their eyes shut to suppress the laughter bubbling up in their throat. Taking the lack of response as a challenge, Maka slid her hands up and began to pinch at their ribs. That got them and quickly waves of gasping laughter began to wrack their body. If there was anything more beautiful than Crona's smile, it was their laughter, light and breathy and so thoroughly Crona that one couldn't help but fall in love with them the second they started laughing. It was a rare noise that was slowly starting to come out more the longer they lived in the chaotic household. This was technically a cheating way to get it out of them, but it didn't make the sound any less breathtaking.

Crona moved their hands up to feebly grasp at Maka's stomach. She bit her lip to suppress a smile. The gentle brushing tickled, but she wasn't nearly as sensitive as Crona. Besides, the movement of their arms opened up an important weak point. Her hands crawled slowly up the ribs and skittered under their arms. That was all it took to make them surrender, blurting out their defeat between screeches of laughter.

Maka pulled her hands away and flopped down against Crona's chest. She looked idly at her shirt, littered full of grass stains. "Since I won, you gotta wash the laundry tonight, Soul's gonna kill us if we give him these…"

"You're the one that fell off the bench…" Crona muttered, only to be silenced with a squeak as Maka gave their ribs another squeeze.

Maka sighed in contentment, rubbing her head against their chest. "Love you…"

Crona leaned down and buried their head in her hair, coming loose out of pigtails after their roughhousing.

"I'll have a talk with my bosses about adjusting my hours and pay, I promise," The words were whispered into the crown of her hair, the heat from Crona's breath spreading over her scalp.

She frowned, "You really don't have to do all this,"

"I just want to be helpful to all of you,"

"You're already helpful, you're helpful just by being here with me," She traced a finger up their hand to their wrist.

"I need to feel helpful," They lifted their chin off the top of her head and Maka glanced up. Their brows were furrowed, lips set and eyes lit with same determination that never fails to make her heart flutter, even when they were being ridiculous. That signalled the end of their conversation, she couldn't argue with Crona when they were like this. Besides, for now she just wanted to cuddle with them.

When Maka told Crona she was in love with them, they didn't believe her, so she sat in front of them and listed off everything about them that made them beautiful. Then she made them repeat what she'd said and gave them a kiss every time they listed off something positive until they accepted that maybe there was something inside them beautiful enough to fall in love with. Today wasn't a victory in curbing Crona's lack of self-worth, but it was a step in the right direction and that's all Maka could ask for.


End file.
